CORE: Developmental Funds PROJECT SUMMARY: The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center (DLDCC) effectively used Developmental funds in the past four years to provide support for shared resource development and to fund pilot projects to strengthen collaborative research and several Research Programs. Funds were used to help foster the creation and further development of the Population Science Biorepository (PSB) shared resource, which greatly enhanced its ability to support members engaged in population science and molecular epidemiology. The PSB shared resource is now seeking CCSG support as a mature SR in this application. This shared resource is critical to the Cancer Prevention and Population Science Program and others in the DLDCC focusing on population science. In addition, the DLDCC used developmental funds to support pilot projects strategically targeted to increase collaborations within and between specific programs. Five (5) projects were supported in this past project period. Long-term evaluation of the pilot project program dating back to the inception of the DLDCC in 2007 demonstrates its effectiveness in creating research collaborations leading to publications as well as external grants with a financial return of greater than eight to one. Because of the success of funding pilot projects over the years, we are requesting additional funds to support future pilot projects and to import new shared resource technologies to meet user demands in the next grant cycle. Funds provided through the CCSG will be leveraged by the use of the director?s discretionary funds to create more or larger pilot projects or to purchase expensive equipment.